Page 11 - D&D - Player's Handbook

There is much danger and adventure to be had in the but beyond the areas that each rules, their families and
free places of the North, and a great deal of wealth and businesses compete with one another and with the lo-
treasure. as well. The ruins of ancient kingdoms and cals of far-flung places.
countless smaller settlements litter the countryside, The use of arcane magic is illegal in Arnn, meaning
waiting for the right explorers to happen upon them. that the only authorized spellcasters in the nation are
wielders of divine magic who enjoy the support and
THE UNDERDARK patronage of a temple, and users of arcane magic who
Extending miles downward and outward beneath the have been given special dispensation by one of the oli-
garchs. So pervasive is the sway of Amn's oligarchy that
surface of FaerO.n, and reaching to other continents as
few crimes merit physical punishment but those that
well, the great network of subterranean caverns known
involve the use of arcane magic or an offense against
as the Underdark is home to all manner of strange and
one of the council's merchant houses. Other infractions
deadly creatures. Duergar and drow- dark reflections
are forgiven after the miscreant makes payment of an
of dwarves and elves-live in these sunless lands, as do
the svirfneblin, or deep gnomes. Most surface-dwelling appropriate fine.
folk aren't threatened or even disturbed by denizens Calimshan. This southern land has long been the
of the deep places, but the creatures occasionally battleground for warring genies. After years of strug-
emerge to raid or to seek some kind of goal in the sur- gling beneath their genasi masters, human slaves arose
to follow a Chosen of Ilmater, at first using nonviolent
face world.
Among the lands of the Underdark beneath the North resistance, and then erupting in full rebellion following
are the svirfneblin city of Blingdenstone, the duergar his disappearance. They overthrew the genie lords of
city of Gracklstugh, and the infamous drow city of Men- Calimport and Memnon, casting the remaining genies
zoberranzan. Also prominent is Mantol-Derith, a trading out of the cities and back to their elemental homes or
post for Underdark merchants. into the depths of the deserts.
Much of Calimshan is a chaotic place dominated by
wealth, political influence, and personal power. Many
TORIL AND ITS LANDS
pray for the return of the Chosen and the completion of
Tori! is a vast and wondrous world, filled with an im- his work. Others are learning to live together without
mense diversity of peoples and a rich, full history. For genie masters, and to grudgingly accept the remaining
most folk of the Sword Coast, however, knowledge genasi among them.
doesn't extend much beyond the confines of the North, Chult. The vast, choking jungles of Chult hide what
and anything "known" outside of FaerO.n proper is based many believe to be great mineral wealth, including large
more in rumor than in fact. gemstones and veins of ore. Poisonous flora and fauna
riddle the jungles, but some still brave the dangers to
FAERUN
The vast central continent of Tori!, FaerO.n is a land
mass divided by a great sea known as the Inner Sea, or
the Sea of Fallen Stars. The lands beyond the North can
be roughly divided into those to the south and those to
the east, becoming more foreign to the folk of the Sword
Coast and the North the farther away they are.
LANDS TO THE SOUTH
To the south of the Sword Coast lie ancient nations, a
tremendous, forbidding jungle, and all manner of lands
destroyed or transformed by magical cataclysms and up-
heavals. Amid the ruin and the distress in these realms
are signs of renewal and hope, as tenacious civilizations
and peoples rebuild, reclaim, and create anew.
Amn. A nation led by the representatives of five noble
families, Arnn is a place where the wealthy rule, openly
and without pretense. Shrewd traders and ruthless in
business, Amnians believe that the end of a successful
transaction is justified by any means, ethical or oth-
erwise. Although the nation is richer by far than even
the northern metropolises of Baldur's Gate and Water-
deep, its influence is curtailed by the unwillingness of
its rulers to work together in the nation's best interest.
The members of the Council of Five are fairly unified
and tight-fisted in their control of Arnn, but their ability
to affect events outside their own borders is limited be-
cause they can't agree enough on major matters of for-
eign policy. The oligarchs utterly control their nation,